Wildflower-Race Day

The cars are parked and it's time to head down to transition......butterfly's!!

Me, Jeff and Steve.

Sam heading down to transition.


Laura took this shot from the bus down to transition. This is Lake San Antonio. The water was looking very calm which I was happy about.


Transition on race morning looks a lot different than it did the day before. I found my way to my spot and got set up. I had plenty of time to freeze my butt off since we got there so early. It was cold but the heat was on it's way.....

Here's me going down to the swim start....feeling ready!

I lined up with my other 35-39 age groupers (yes, I just turned 35 and moved up an age group) and got ready to start the swim. I placed myself up towards the front and the gun went off! I started out smooth and slow and didn't get caught up in all of the craziness. I had to swim through a few people but settled in quite quickly. Initially, I tried drafting off of another girl but she was going too slow and I needed to pick up the pace. I pulled out in front of her and focused on my stroke and rhythm. I seemed to swim on course and didn't even run into any buoys! It was a lonely swim, running into a few people here and there but mostly going it alone.

I got out of the water and looked at my watch. NO WAY! I had started my watch about 30 seconds before the swim start and it said 35:20 so I figured I was right around 35 minutes. In all actuality, I broke 35 minutes with a swim time of 34:57. For some, this swim time would be a total failure, but for me, it's a milestone. I have been putting a lot of time and effort into improving my swim for the last 3 weeks and this is the first glimpse of some measurable improvement. Just a month ago, I swam a 37:08 in Oceanside. For me to take over 2 minutes off of my half iron swim time since my last race just a month ago, made me feel really happy. Here I am running up the hill to transition.

Swim: 34:57

Had a smooth T1 of 2:32. This is a pretty big transition area so that seemed like an acceptable time. I mounted my bike and hit the course. From the start of the bike, my legs felt a little 'heavy'. This was a bit concerning but I just focused on my power and kept going. I'd find myself fading a bit, power dropping and then I'd start pushing a little harder. I was just so tired but I couldn't figure out why. It was clear that the bike was not going as well as I'd hoped but I did my best to stay on target with my power and hope that this meant I'd have a good run. I've had races in the past where my legs don't feel great on the bike and then I get on the run and my legs feel fresh because I couldn't go hard on the bike. I was hoping this would be the case.

Bike: 3:03:27

As I came down lynch hill on the bike, Haley was running down to finish her race. It was fun to see her and loved that the timing worked out so perfectly. At the same time, I wanted to be her, and be done (not to mention, be as fast as her). I still had 13.1 miles to run. We gave each other a shout and I made my way to T2.

I had a smooth T2 although I ran right past my spot and had to run back. Headed out on the run and right out of transition you have to climb stairs! Oh man. I settled in and noticed that my heart rate was a little low but I thought I'd just go on perceived exertion since I was heading into the toughest half iron run I'd ever done. I just never got my legs under me. Surprisingly, the run seemed to go by pretty fast. Now, this was not due to me running fast, I think it actually had something to do with the fact that I was somewhat delirious. I just focused on the miles, one at a time and at times felt like I wasn't moving forward. It was really hot and the hills just kept coming. To top it off, there were NO naked people! Rumor has it that at aid station #4, there are naked people cheering. I looked forward to this because any form of entertainment would have helped me stay conscious but they never appeared.

I never did walk but passed a lot of people that were walking. I don't think I was going much faster than them but nonetheless, I was still "running". I took a ton of water and gatorade in, unlike past races that go south. I knew from the beginning, not to look at my run splits because I didn't want to get discouraged and I was already trying as hard as I could. For those of you that haven't done Wildflower, this run course is just plain HARD. There's lots of ups and downs as well as a nice, steady climb that is never-ending at around mile 10. Then, the last mile is straight downhill which I found to be a bonus. This just made me go "less slow".

I refused to look at my watch to see what my finishing time was going to be until I was done with the race. As I entered the finishing chute, I stopped my watch and saw it said 5:46. OHMYGOD. I didn't realize I went THAT slow. I tried my best to finish strong but I was in bad shape. I felt a bit of shame as I saw Laura in the stands, cheering me on with camera in hand. Sigh. It is good to be done.

Run: 2:04:08

However, I can honestly say-I tried really hard. It was just a very tough race.

Overall Time: 5:47:21
9th in Age Group

Haley came and found me in transition and knew that it didn't go well for me. Both Laura and Haley said I looked really rough coming in. It was nice to have her there and get a big hug from her. She understood. She did mention that my belly was really bloated. Hm. The first signs of something on it's way.....and no, I'm not pregnant.

I got all of my stuff out of transition, hooked up with Laura and we met up with the gang. Jeff Blackwell, Steve Rupe, Sam, Haley, Troy Nelson, Molly and Sean Linder. Molly placed 5th in our AG, Sam got 5th in his AG and Jeff got 5th in his AG. The Spokane clan made a great showing! Haley placed 12th in the pro's and it was quite a competitive field.

Usually, when I finish a race, I get over it if it didn't go well and I'm ready to celebrate someone's victory! But, I just couldn't rally. After waiting around for a long time to see if Sam and Jeff were going to place in their age group, we had to pack up and leave. I couldn't stay upright. Laura and I headed out. She was racing the next morning.

Here's me, Troy, Molly, Haley and Sean.

I couldn't eat much and felt completely wiped and achy. By bedtime, the huge victory burrito I had bought sat on the nightstand with one bite out of it. For those of you who know me, I can put away the food. Especially after a race. Not to mention, a beer or two. I went to bed that night disappointed in my lack of appetite and fatigue.

As the following day passed, it became clear that I had the stomach flu. I haven't been that sick in a long time and am still battling this lovely gift. The ride home was torture as I did my best to stay curled up around my pillow in the fetal position while Laura drove. Thank god for her, I can't imagine having to drive all the way home by myself feeling like that.

Speaking of Laura, she raced the olympic distance on Sunday. I got to be her sherpa. I went to hang out at the swim start. I found my way onto the dock and was approached and asked if I wanted to announce the next wave start as well as blare the horn. So, I got to give a shout out to Laura and Roger (who was already on the bike) and got to mention our tri-club and talk about myself (they asked!). As Laura later explained, she could hear me saying her name and she was looking around at people saying "that's me". The funniest part was after this shot. The announcer had just realized that the Laura that I had given a shout out to earlier was now warming up in the water. So, she interviewed her in front of everyone and after they were done, she quickly walked over to the back of the pack and got ready for the gun to go off.

She really doesn't always have her tongue hanging out of her mouth.....


Here's Laura after her race, looking pretty fresh. Maybe, you could give just a little more effort next time, so you're actually sore the next day?

A shout out to Sam Picicci for an awesome race and only one minute off of the time I predicted he would do, Steve Rupe for a solid effort on his first half of the year, Jeff Blackwell for placing 5th in his AG with an injured calf, Troy Nelson for taking 10 minutes off of last year and Coops for being my hero :). Also, a shout out to Roger for killing the field in the olympic distance race (3rd overall and 1 second behind 2nd). You can check out his blog for all of the details and photos.......that I took. Make sure to check out the posts below, I made three today. It was a long trip!

Thanks to all of my pals for making this such a fun weekend, can't wait for next year. Who's in?